Indiana Injury Law Blog

A report by the US Veterans Health Administration shows that there has been a decline in the number of medical errors at VA hospitals. However, not all is good news. While the number of actual medical errors has gone down, the number of close calls has actually increased.

Indiana medical malpractice lawyers know that preventable medical errors are a major health care problem in the United States, and the hospitals run by the US Veterans Health Administration have not been spared either. New research shows a drop in medical errors, however. According to a study, the numbers of wrong site surgeries, wrong patient surgeries and wrong medical procedures have declined in VA hospitals. The research is based on hospital reports from 2006 to 2009.

The Veterans Administration has taken steps to reduce the number of preventable medical errors at its facilities. These efforts include the introduction of checklists to prevent surgical errors. Besides, the Veterans Administration has also introduced requirements for health care professionals like doctors, nurses and other hospital workers to report medical errors and near-miss adverse events. There was extra focus on encouraging healthcare workers to report medical errors without fear of consequences.

As a result of these strategies, the per month rate of medical errors dropped from about 3 to 2 at the 153 VA centers that are equipped for surgeries. Close calls however increased from 2 to 3.
There is an explanation for why close calls are up. According to the Veterans Administration, doctors and nurses are now much more comfortable about reporting medical errors than they used to be.

Considering the fact that most medical procedures in the United States every year are performed in outpatient clinics, Indiana medical malpractice attorneys have found it odd that there hasn't been as much focus on prevention of medical errors in these clinics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is rectifying that. The agency has released new guidelines for the prevention of errors and infections in outpatient clinics.

Outpatient settings including ambulatory care centers, endoscopy centers and primary care clinics have become the setting for most medical procedures that take place in the country every day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has known for a very long time now that infections in these centers are just as high as those at hospitals.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's new guidelines sets standards for the prevention of errors and infections. The new guidelines include a focus on the development of infection prevention programs, supplies for hand hygiene and infection control, and the appointment of one trained individual who can supervise infection prevention programs in a hospital. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends that infection prevention policies in a hospital be well defined and clearly written out.

The guidelines also have suggestions for hand hygiene compliance in ambulatory care settings, the selection and proper use of personal protection equipment, disinfection of environmental surfaces, disinfection of Medical equipment and respiratory hygiene.

A new study indicates that a popular drug that is often used in the treatment of cancer may also have beneficial effects in patients who suffer from spinal cord injury. The drug, Taxol has been in use for several years now, to treat breast cancer with successful results. Scientists, who have experimented with lab mice, have found that the drug has substantial benefits in mice with spinal cord injury too.
The researchers used low concentrations of Taxol on the site of the spinal cord injury. After about 6 to 8 weeks of the Taxol treatment, the researchers tested the mice on their ability to walk on sticks. Mice that have a spinal cord injury find it hard to walk in this manner because of increased missteps. However, after the Taxol treatment, the rats actually had fewer missteps and were able to walk better than rats that were not given the treatment.
It is not entirely clear how Taxol helps treat spinal cord injury. However, the researchers believe that it has something to do with the effect of the drug on the regeneration of axons. These axons are structures in nerve cells that are responsible for transmitting nerve impulses. After a spinal cord injury, the tissue around the spinal cord injury site can be covered with scar tissue, inhibiting the regrowth and regeneration of the axons. However, Taxol seems to reduce the amount of scarring that takes place at the spinal injury site, thereby allowing regeneration of the axons.
The good news for Indiana injury lawyers is that since Taxol is an approved drug, and has been used for several years as a cancer drug, the path towards using it as a spinal cord injury treatment is easier. However, Taxol cannot be used as a treatment for spinal cord injury on its own, and also will not be able to work on older injuries.

As Indiana brain injury lawyers, we know that in many cases, surgery soon after a traumatic brain injury, can enhance the person’s chances of survival and facilitate a quicker return to a normal life. A new study shows that brain injury surgery can also be helpful in elderly patients, but it also comes with certain risks, especially within the first year after the surgery.

Out of the elderly patients in the study who had surgery after brain injury, approximately one third died in the hospital after surgery. Further, about 50% of the patients died within one year after surgery. That doesn't mean however that brain surgery does not benefit seniors. Among those elderly patients that had brain surgery, and were monitored over a period of 42 months, there were favorable outcomes. Two thirds of the survivors of brain injury surgery had a favorable outcome as seen over 42 months. This was demonstrated by their Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended score of at least five. Overall, the researchers say that they are happy with what they saw in elderly patients with brain surgery over an extended period of time of several months, but the results for patients over a period of one year, were a little disappointing.

There also seem to be a lot of other factors that determine outcomes for elderly patients with brain injury who have surgery. For instance, patients who were admitted to the hospital in a conscious state were much more likely to have favorable outcomes, then those who were unconscious when they were taken to the hospital. Besides, the degree of independence at the time of discharge from the hospital also seems to play a big role in the type of outcome.
Brain injuries among the elderly can be caused due to slip and fall accidents, or as a result of high impact auto accidents including car/truck/motorcycle accidents in Indiana. These can also be the result of violence, assaults and gunshots.

Defense attorneys for Mark Weinberger tried convincing jurors that our client had not really suffered lasting medical damage because of the doctor’s heinous actions in performing an unnecessary sinus surgery on him. They also argued that the holes in our client William Boyer's sinuses caused by the unnecessary surgery were correctible. They also pleaded for an award of just $25,000 to compensate Boyer for his suffering from the doctor’s actions.
Ultimately, the jury awarded our client damages of $300,000, 12 times what the defense asked for.
The Indiana medical malpractice lawyers at our firm have obtained an award of $300,000 in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by our client William Boyer, against Mark Weinberger, the shamed doctor who performed unnecessary surgeries on hundreds of patients in one of the biggest healthcare frauds and medical malpractice cases in Indiana. Mark Weinberger's insurer will pay $250,000 of the damages, and the Indiana Patient Compensation Fund will pay the remaining $50,000.
The Indiana medical malpractice attorneys at our law firm now represent close to 300 former patients of Doctor Mark Weinberger, out of which 20 have cleared the biggest initial hurdle. Under Indiana's laws, a panel of experts consisting of three doctors has found medical malpractice in these cases.

The past couple of weeks has seen plenty of media coverage in Indiana and nationwide as the first of the civil trials against Mark Weinberger went to trial, and ended with a $300,000 verdict for the plaintiff.

Read more about the medical malpractice verdict that Indiana attorney Barry Rooth obtained for his client:

NWI.com

Post Tribune

Here are more posts from when the trial got underway in the latter half of August.

The start of the trial

This is an account of a key moment in the trial- when doctors testified that there was no need and no reason for a surgery on William Bowyer.

This is a look at a long line of Indiana medical malpractice lawsuits against Mark Weinberger, many of which are now due to proceed. We are representing close to 300 former patients of the Nose Doc.

NBC Chicago looks at the beginning of the Mark Weinberger Indiana medical malpractice trial that has riveted the nation.
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/weinberger-boyer-civil-medical-malpractice-suit-101352694.html